


I was just an only child of the universe (and then I found you)

by Kendal_Lynne



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam lets himself get taken care of, Adam's got a crush, Alternative Getting Together, Between Blue Lily Lily Blue and The Raven King, Canon Divergence, Dorks in Love, First Kiss, Fluff, I'm not super sure of when it would take place, Idiots in Love, Just a lot of mushy feelings, M/M, Mutual Pining, No angst or miscommunications, POV Adam, Ronan Lynch Loves Adam Parrish, Ronan takes care of Adam, Snow Storm, Snowed In, The Barns, but maggie sucks at timelines anyway :), fluffy fluff, pynch - Freeform, what's wrong with me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-26 02:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20036464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kendal_Lynne/pseuds/Kendal_Lynne
Summary: The storm came out of nowhere. Adam wasn't prepared. Lucky for him, Ronan was.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea of a 'snowed-in' fic for a while and finally got around to writing it! Yay! Fluff for our boys because they've been through a lot and deserve good things :)
> 
> ENDLESS THANKS to EmmaLThornwood for being my very first beta and making this fic so much better. If you aren't familiar with her writing yet, do yourself a favor and check her out! She's quickly climbed to the top of my 'must-read' list <3

The storm came out of nowhere. 

Or, at least, it did for Adam Parrish, who was far too busy juggling homework, Cabeswater, and his multiple jobs to pay attention to the weather reports warning that said storm was quickly approaching. 

Even if he did have the time to listen to the upcoming forecast, it wasn’t like he could do much to prepare. St. Agnes had pretty limited resources when it came to winter in Henrietta—his apartment in particular was only equipped with a small, persnickety furnace that Adam had since supplemented with an even smaller space-heater that the women of Fox Way had graciously gifted him with last Christmas. 

He also had access to a decent-sized shovel the church owned that allowed him to dig a small walk-way to his car (thankfully, the church had hired a parishioner with a truck to plow the parking lot). But besides those two things, Adam’s idea of storm preparation was mostly to roll with the punches. He’d get through anything—he always had and always would. 

The night it actually hit, he was so wrapped up in repairing a busted carburetor that he didn’t even notice when the snow started to fall outside. It wasn’t until Boyd let him go two hours early (“It’s really starting to come down out there. Get home safe, kid. I’ll cover you for the rest of the shift.”) that Adam even lifted his head and saw the fluffy snowflakes. 

Things went from ‘not ideal’ to ‘downright bad’ when Adam got back to St. Agnes. His decision to take a quick, hot shower quickly backfired when the hot water abruptly cut out, dousing him in the freezing cold stuff. Then, five minutes into his meal prep for the night, his apartment lost all power. 

And despite Adam’s hope that the power would kick back on within a few seconds, it was quickly diminished as the minutes ticked on. Which was how he ended up here, eating a bowl of lukewarm, half-cooked beans on his bed—a thin quilt wrapped around his shivering form. A small candle sat lit on his makeshift bed stand, the only light source he had for the immediate future. 

Just when Adam was thinking he really, really wished he’d taken Gansey up on his frequent offers to buy Adam a cheap phone, a powerful knock on his door shook him from his shivering stupor. 

A moment later, the door swung open. On the other side was none other than Ronan Lynch, holding a large, greasy takeout bag in one hand and an industrial flashlight in the other. He shook a few errant snowflakes off his buzzed head and looked over at Adam’s sad predicament. 

He brought the flashlight up to shine in Adam’s face. 

“Just when I thought you couldn’t get more stubborn,” he said with a grimace. 

“What are you doing here?” Adam asked, squinting away from the light. 

“Half the neighborhood lost power. I swung by Boyd’s but it was already closed for the night. Low and behold, I find your shit-box in the parking lot downstairs.” 

Ronan moved the flashlight down to Adam’s sad bowl of beans. He shook his head disapprovingly.

“Grab your shit. Gansey’ll never forgive me if I let you freeze to death in here,” Ronan said. 

“I’m not staying at Monmouth,” Adam said suddenly. 

Even though he’d admit his current situation felt pretty dire, he couldn’t stomach the idea of having to face Gansey tonight. As much as Adam loved his friendship, he was fairly certain that freezing actually felt preferable to seeing Gansey’s “I told you so” face. Maybe Ronan could give him a ride to Fox Way…

“Fine by me, I’m heading to the Barns,” Ronan said. “If you’re not downstairs in five, I’ll assume you want me to eat these two double-cheeseburgers alone.”

Adam’s mouth watered at the thought. 

“…Fries?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Is the Pope Catholic?” Ronan called over his shoulder as he descended the stairs.

Adam suppressed a smile. Before he could even calculate how much he’d owe Ronan for his half of the dinner, he was already jumping into his boots and jacket. Grabbing his book-bag, he blew out the lone candle and slowly navigated his way downstairs with the help of the flashlight Ronan left at the top.

* * *

They ate most of the fries on the drive to the Barns. Adam was impressed with how Ronan navigated the BMW in the snow, driving much more cautiously than usual—but he wasn’t dumb enough to voice this out loud. In fact, they rode in mostly comfortable silence, until Adam made the move to take out his burger. 

“Patience is a virtue, Parrish,” Ronan said, slapping his hand away for good measure.

“You said I could have the fries,” Adam reminded him.

“To hold you over until we got home,” Ronan said, possibly slipping on his use of the word ‘home,’ but it made Adam’s stomach do summersaults all the same. “We’re gonna eat dinner off real plates like civilized men.” 

“Civilized is one of the last words I’d ever use to describe you,” Adam said.

“Oh, yeah? What’s the first?” Ronan asked. He spared a quick glance over at Adam, a hint of a smile on his face.

“A lot,” Adam told him without thinking. It was true, after all. So why did it feel like a dark confession of some kind?

If Ronan found the response odd, he certainly didn’t show it on his face.

“That’s two words” he said, just to be a little shit.

“I take it back. Annoying,” Adam replied. “Annoying is definitely first.” 

That earned a slightly wider Ronan Lynch smirk, who nodded like the answer finally pleased him. Adam, in turn, did his best to ignore the slight reddening on his own cheeks.

* * *

Almost as soon as they arrived at the Barns, Ronan was pushing Adam upstairs to take a proper shower and telling him to help himself to “whatever.” 

While it wasn’t the first time Adam had been in Ronan’s childhood home, it was the first time he’d beenupstairs alone and given free range. As much as he would have loved to be nosy and explore each and every room, he only had one thing on his mind at the moment: warming up. 

He wasn’t sure if the body wash and shampoo he used was something Ronan had dreamed up or just a fancy brand he’d never be able to afford, but either way the experience left him feeling relaxed and pampered. 

After spending what felt like a criminal amount of time taking one of the hottest showers he’d ever had, Adam slipped the same thread-bare pajamas he’d been wearing when Ronan picked him up over his still-flushed skin. He couldn’t help but hate the way his clothes felt on him after the shower--somehow wrong even though they were certainly his. 

Feeling half-inspired by Ronan’s insistence on Adam helping himself to “whatever” and half-brazen due to something else entirely, Adam found himself wandering into Matthew’s old room for a change of clothes. But Matthew’s clothing was far too big, nearly swallowing Adam’s significantly smaller frame up. 

Adam then went into Declan’s room, but found that Declan’s old pajamas somehow felt even stiffer than his own. Not to mention the idea of borrowing clothes from Ronan’s too-often adversary felt weirdly combative to Adam.

Which is how he ended up in Ronan’s room—not nearly as disastrous as his bedroom at Monmouth, but still decidedly Ronan’s to anyone who really knew him. Adam didn’t think too hard about what he was doing as he easily slipped into a pair of Ronan’s flannel pajama pants and a dark blue Henley that he’d never seen Ronan wear. At the last second, he also threw on a pair of fuzzy socks before making his way downstairs. 

Upon arriving in the kitchen, Adam immediately noticed two things: one, Ronan had started a fire in the fireplace in his absence, making the living room glow a warm and magnificent orange. Two, Ronan looked much better than anyone had any right to look while doing something as mundane as watching fast food burgers reheat in an oven.

Adam cleared his throat as he entered, alerting Ronan to his presence. Ronan seemed to shake himself out of some sort of trance he was in before looking over at Adam. His eyes widened a bit, immediately dropping down to Adam’s (his) clothes, before looking back up at him. 

Adam suddenly felt exposed.

“What?” he asked.

“I didn’t say anything,” Ronan said.

“But you look like you want to,” Adam said. 

Ronan huffed out a laugh, shaking his head as he glanced back to the oven. Somehow, this was enough for him to determine the burgers were ready and he busied himself with taking them out and tossing each one on a plate. He pushed one across the kitchen island, where Adam stood watching him. 

“We’re supposed to eat standing up? I thought we were pretending to be civilized tonight,” Adam told him. 

“This is as civilized as I get,” Ronan said with a shrug. 

And so they ate like that, both leaning up against the tall island, sparing glances every now and then at each other. At one point, Adam caught Ronan focusing again on the clothes he was wearing. 

“That shirt looks good on you,” Ronan finally said around a bite of burger. 

Adam looked down at the shirt unnecessarily, like he’d forgotten what he was wearing. He wasn’t used to getting complements in general, but he certainly wasn’t used to getting them from Ronan Lynch, of all people. He may have started to grow somewhat accustomed to the feeling of Ronan’s eyes on him when he thought Adam didn’t notice, but this was entirely new territory.

“Thanks,” Adam said, before looking back up at him: “It’d probably look good on you, too, if you ever decided to wear something that wasn’t black.”

Ronan smirked. “Well, I do have a reputation to uphold,” he said.

On the countertop, Ronan’s despised cell phone started buzzing. He looked down at the screen. 

“Gansey?” Adam asked. 

“Who else?” Ronan replied. He picked up the phone and pointed it at Adam. “Smile.”

“Huh?” Adam asked.

“Proof of life,” Ronan said, presumably taking a picture of Adam’s confused face before recording a voice-to-text message: “At the Barns. Rescued Parrish. Stop worrying.” 

“How’d you learn to do all that fancy phone stuff?” Adam asked.

“Matthew, and it’s not fancy,” Ronan said, glancing down at his phone again with a grin. “Never realized how photogenic you were, Parrish.”

“Oh my god, delete it now,” Adam demanded, walking over to Ronan’s side of the island. 

Of course, the second he got within arm’s reach of Ronan, the slightly taller boy lifted his hand high above both their heads.

“My house, my rules,” Ronan told him.

It was right around that moment that both boys realized how close they were standing. Adam backed down first, taking a few steps back and clearing his throat just as Ronan’s phone buzzed again. 

“For what it’s worth, Gansey thinks you’re cute,” Ronan told him, tossing his phone on the counter. 

“Oh, I’m sure,” Adam laughed, with an eye-roll. It was on the tip of his tongue to shoot back a joke about who in their friend group actually thought he was cute, but he held back. 

“I have reading to do,” he said, grabbing his backpack off the floor and heading for the living room.

Adam braced himself for anti-school retort, but all Ronan said was, “I’ll make hot chocolate.” Then, almost as if it was an afterthought: “Dork.”

* * *

A little while later, Adam couldn’t help but bask in the realization that his night had taken a serious turn for the better. He was showered, fed, and currently sat on a plush sofa in front of a toasty fire. 

It wasn’t until he realized that he was in the process of reading the same page from his US History book for the third time in a row that he decided he was too distracted to get any more work done that night.

Maybe it was the exhaustion of the day. Maybe it was the steady falling snow outside that made him seriously doubt the likelihood of school not being cancelled tomorrow. But more than anything, it was probably the fact that Ronan Lynch was on the sofa with him. 

Earlier, he’d entered the room, plopped a mug of hot chocolate on the table in front of Adam, and laid down on the other side of the sofa—stretching his long legs out to rest across Adam’s lap unceremoniously. 

Adam had been prepared to make a snarky comment, but just as quickly as he’d settled down, Ronan was slinging his massive headphones over his ears and closing his eyes. 

Adam had flicked Ronan’s big toe as hard as he could to get his attention.

Ronan had cracked an eye open and slid his headphones off. 

“Hmm?”

“You don’t have to hang out in here, you know. You can do whatever it was you were planning on doing tonight alone,” Adam had said. 

A ghost of a smile had passed Ronan’s lips as he closed his eyes again.

“This was my plan, Parrish,” he’d said, before adding, “Albeit with a less bony foot rest.”

“You’re free to move your feet elsewhere,” Adam had said, suddenly self-conscious.

“Nah, I’m used to it now,” he’d said, going back to listening to his music. 

That was thirty minutes ago. Adam did his best to be productive, but Ronan was nothing if not distracting—especially when he wasn’t doing anything in particular to be distracting, like he usually did when Adam was studying. 

Every now and then, he’d let out a sigh. Like this was peaceful for him. Like he was content. 

A few times, Adam caught Ronan licking his lips out of the corner of his eye. Adam could taste the remnants of his hot chocolate when he licked his own. He couldn’t help but wonder if Ronan’s tasted the same. 

And yeah, maybe this was driving Adam a little nuts if he let himself think about it for too long.

Deciding to finally call it a night, Adam folded over the corner of his current page.

Ronan opened his eyes but kept his headphones on. At one point, he moved to fold his hands behind his head—causing his biceps to strain against the thin black t-shirt he was wearing. 

Adam made a point of closing his book dramatically so Ronan would get the message. He took off his headphones in response. 

“Done already?” Ronan asked. 

“I’m a fast reader,” Adam quipped. “And now I’m bored. Entertain me.”

“Since when does Adam Parrish need anything from anybody?” 

A few years ago, this line would have been delivered with venom. A dig that would have worked its way under Adam’s skin so fast he wouldn’t have even seen the fight coming. 

But that was then. And things had undeniably changed since then. Now, the line was delivered with levity. A hint of teasing. Maybe a hint of something more. 

Adam smiled. Ronan smiled back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Let me know what think below :) Second half will be posted tomorrow <3


	2. Chapter 2

After an hour of playing videogames and two failed attempts to agree on something to watch on TV (“Forget it, Lynch, I’m not watching 90 Day Fiancé. I have standards.” “I never knew you were such a fan of prestige television, Parrish.”) they settled on a random Vine compilation video on YouTube that at one point made Adam laugh so hard he cried. 

Soon after that, they decided it was probably time to turn in for the night. Adam said he was happy to crash on the sofa, but Ronan scoffed and shook his head.

“Plenty of beds to choose from upstairs. Go crazy, Goldilocks,” Ronan had said before disappearing into the bathroom to shower. 

And just like that, Adam was given full range over Ronan’s childhood home for the second time that night. He decided pretty immediately that Declan’s room had a weird vibe and told himself that Matthew’s room was his safest bet. 

But apparently, Adam wasn’t in the mood to play it safe that night, because he found himself gravitating towards Ronan’s room before he could stop himself. 

This time around, he felt less sheepish. Still like an outsider, but less of an intruder. He felt bolder somehow as he explored the different objects on his dresser. He couldn’t say for sure that the objects were pulled from Ronan’s dreams, but there was something slightly askew about each of them. 

He came across a small model car, picking it up in his hands. His finger accidentally grazed one of the wheels, and he was surprised when a soft melody began to play.

He spun another wheel. Heard another melody. A smile tugged at his cheeks.

“That old thing caught your eye, huh?” came a voice from the doorway.

Adam nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound. He turned to see a freshly showered Ronan, still wrapped in a towel and looking uncharacteristically vulnerable—which was a very entertaining sight to Adam for several reasons.

“You scared me,” Adam huffed out, gently placing the toy back on the dresser. 

“Sorry to cut your snooping time short,” Ronan told him, though he sounded pretty amused about it. 

“I can leave,” Adam offered.

“No, stay,” Ronan said. “I mean, I do have to, you know.” He motioned towards his nearly naked body, indicating he’d need to get dressed at some point. “But you can hang out or whatever.”

“I’ll just—” Adam said, before turning away to give him some privacy.

He listened to the sound of Ronan moving behind him, opening and closing a few dresser drawers. 

“K, I’m good,” he said after a minute. 

Adam turned back around to see Ronan dressed in a pair of black sweatpants and a ribbed muscle shirt.

“Won’t you be cold in just that?” Adam asked.

“I run hot,” Ronan said with a sort of intensity that made Adam want to blush. “Did you figure out where you want to sleep?” 

Okay, now Adam was sure he was blushing. He shrugged, going for nonchalant as he sat on the edge of Ronan’s bed. He suddenly found the details of Ronan’s rug very interesting. 

Ronan didn’t say anything, but Adam felt his eyes on him. Adam shrugged again, hoping the nonverbal gesture was enough to get his point across. 

Moments later, the message was seemingly received when Ronan moved to sit next to Adam on the bed. He also seemed to find the rug patterns in his room worth his attention. 

It was at this point that Adam realized he had a choice to make. He could laugh this whole thing off, punch Ronan in the arm, and go sleep in Matthew’s room. Or he could finally speak up. 

He didn’t realize how close their hands were on the comforter until Ronan moved his pinky just enough that it was pressing against Adam’s. 

Adam looked down at the spot where their fingers touched. And then he made a choice. 

“Do you remember what I said earlier? The first word that comes to mind when I think of you?” Adam asked.

“You said annoying,” Ronan reminded him.

“No, I said ‘a lot.’ And yes, I realize that’s more than one word. But it’s true. You are… a lot.”

He felt his voice soften as he spoke his next words quietly, chosen carefully: “I don’t mean it as an insult, though. Pretty much the opposite, actually. You’re so much. Expansive. Larger than life. Magical—”

Suddenly, Ronan’s hand was on his cheek, pulling their faces together. And then they were kissing. It felt somewhere between getting the wind knocked out of you and taking a first gulp of air after resurfacing. Adam was simultaneously stunned and revitalized. Lost at sea and welcomed home. 

It was Adam and Ronan. Opposing factions that happened to fit together like puzzle pieces. 

Ronan kissed him deeply, intensely, but with a tenderness that threatened to shatter Adam’s heart. He instinctively knew Ronan was holding back, like he was scared Adam would run away. 

But Adam could never run away from this. 

He did, however, need to breathe eventually. He tilted his head back just enough to do so, though their foreheads remained pressed together. He could sense Ronan’s immediate panic at having done the wrong thing.

“No, it’s just—” Adam whispered breathlessly. “Hang on a sec.” 

“We don’t have to—” 

“—Ronan, shut up,” Adam told him as he swung his leg over Ronan’s lap, situating himself on top of him.

Ronan’s hands instinctively found Adam’s hips. Ronan may have had a few inches on Adam, but from this position, he had to tilt his head up slightly to look the other boy in the eyes. 

Adam saw a mix of wonder and disbelief on Ronan’s face. His lips were red and slightly swollen. They parted with a slight inhale when Adam looked down at them.

And then they were kissing again. 

Much to Adam’s delight, any hesitancy Ronan had melted away this time around. He met him with the same hunger, matching every kiss with the type of intensity he usually reserved for their verbal sparring matches. 

Adam realized he very much preferred this type of battle when it came to Ronan. 

That’s when it hit him that they were actually doing this. Making out on Ronan’s childhood bed like they were normal, horny teenagers and not a magician and a dreamer. It made him smile. 

Apparently, smile too much for Ronan’s liking, who pulled back with a signature scowl.

“Something funny, Parrish?” he rasped.

“I’m literally straddling you. Does that not warrant a little amusement?” Adam asked as he draped his arms around Ronan’s neck, pulling their bodies even closer together. 

“For your information, I take you straddling me very seriously,” Ronan deadpanned, tightening his grip on Adam’s hips. 

“Prove it,” Adam said. 

Never one to turn down a challenge, Ronan merely smirked at the other boy before deftly flipping them over on the bed.

Adam barely had a chance to register the surprise of suddenly being under Ronan, who was now fully grinning like the cat that caught the canary. 

Adam was all too eager to wipe the grin off Ronan’s face by pulling him in for another kiss. 

Which turned into another kiss. And then another. Which soon turned into a furious make-out session, littered with multiple love bites and their fair share of dry humping. 

Once it became apparent that things were suddenly escalating into vastly unknown territories for both parties, Adam made the hard (very hard) decision to extract himself from Ronan’s grip, pushing him away just enough to softly say: “Easy, tiger. You don’t wanna give away all your best moves on the first night, do you?”

“Depends on whether there’s gonna be a second night,” Ronan told him. 

If he meant for it to be a joke, he failed pretty terribly in his delivery. 

“If I haven’t made it clear by now, I like you an awful lot,” Adam confessed.

Ronan reached out his hand, caressing the side of Adam’s face so gently it made his chest ache.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I was trying to be subtle about it, but I shoulda known better. There’s nothing subtle about you,” Adam said. 

“Subtlety is for losers,” Ronan said, dropping his hand to the bed. 

Adam didn’t care for that very much, so he picked Ronan’s hand back up and put it back on his cheek—caressing the back of his hand with his fingertips.

“Can I stay in here with you tonight?” Adam asked. 

Ronan nodded. 

Adam turned his head to kiss his palm. 

Ronan’s eyes fluttered closed. 

* * *

The next morning, Adam woke up to the sound of a cell phone buzzing. Which was annoying for several reasons, one of which being Adam didn’t have a cell phone, and the other that he’d never slept in such a comfortable bed.

When Adam realized he also didn’t _own _a comfortable bed, he was forced to pry his eyes open and figure out where the hell he was. 

Then it all came spilling back into his mind, like remembering a great dream and then remembering that dream really happened and getting to bask in that realization all over again.

Ronan was sleeping on his stomach, facing away from Adam with his arms tucked under his pillow. Beneath the covers, his leg pressed hotly against Adam’s. Ronan wasn’t lying the night before; he really did run hot. 

His cell buzzed again from its place on the side table. Ronan groaned in his sleep, clearly not interested in answering. 

Adam pushed himself up just enough to reach over Ronan and grab the phone. He checked the text messages from Gansey and smiled, typing out a quick response and putting the phone back.

He then leaned down, pressing his chest against Ronan’s back so he could speak into his ear: “We got a snow day, Lynch.”

He felt Ronan’s body tense as he woke up, before relaxing again. 

“Parrish?” he mumbled.

“Do you remember falling asleep with a different boy?” 

Adam moved away just enough to let Ronan roll onto his back to face him. He had lines from his pillow on his cheek. Adam privately thought that he’d never looked more beautiful. 

“Hi,” Ronan said, his voice still soft with sleep. 

“Hi,” Adam responded, setting on his side to face him. 

“No school?”

“No school.” 

Ronan grinned, moving to pressing his face against Adam’s chest. Some might even call the gesture ‘snuggling,’ but Adam would never say it out loud. Ronan had a reputation to maintain, after all.

“I like this,” Ronan told him, sighing as he sunk closer into Adam. “Could get used to it.”

Adam smiled. “Me too,” he confessed quietly, dropping a kiss on top of Ronan’s head.

“I can’t believe my evil plan worked,” Ronan said.

“You had an evil plan to seduce me?” Adam asked, half shocked and half flattered.

Ronan laughed. “No, that part wasn’t planned. Just the ‘getting snowed in with Adam and forcing him to hang out with me’ part.”

Adam laughed, too, though he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

“You don’t have to force me to hang out with you, dummy.” 

“Not anymore,” Ronan said. He pulled his head back so he could look Adam in the eyes. “I’m gonna make you pancakes,” he told him.

“Oh, really?” Adam asked, unable to hide how delightful the idea sounded.

“Yeah. Pancakes and coffee and, like…whatever else you want,” Ronan said. “And you’re not allowed to help. In fact, you gotta stay right here, and I’ll bring it to you.”

Adam snorted at the pleasantly absurd idea. “Breakfast in bed, huh? And then what?”

Ronan thought about this pensively. “I dunno, make out a shit-ton and then later we can build a snowman. Sound good?”

Adam combed his hand through the short hairs on Ronan’s head, smiling down at him. “Sounds great.” 

Ronan leaned up to kiss Adam.

Adam kissed back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate all your comments & kudos :)


End file.
